The History of Valentine's Day

Familiar flowers fill the shop windows wherever you look at this time of year. Of course – it’s February and the run-up to St Valentine’s Day. But where do these traditions actually come from? I was interested and decided to do a little bit of time tunnelling!

There are at least three contenders for who the original Valentine may have been (you may not guess, but Valentine was a very common name in the past – there were loads of them!).

My favourite legend refers to a priest called Valentine. When the Roman Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for soldiers as he felt single men made better soldiers, this Valentine defied the order and performed secret marriage ceremonies for young lovers anyway. 

For this, he was executed around 270 AD. The February timing of our Saint Valentine’s celebration may refer back to the saint’s execution, but there is every chance that it has its root in a pagan ritual called Lupercalia which the Romans celebrated.

It was dedicated to Faunus, a god of agriculture and fertility, and to Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. 

Part of the festival was a ritual where young women put their names into an urn, and the bachelors of the community picked a name out. For the coming year, these pairs became couples, and many of these random combinations actually resulted in marriage.

During the early centuries of Christianity, these practices were (understandably) outlawed, but in the Middle Ages, a new idea took hold: it was thought that birds began looking for a mate around Saint Valentine’s Day. 

The poet Geoffrey Chaucer 14th-century poem is the earlier record of this idea with his poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” in which “Seynt Valentynes day” is the day “whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make” . 

The idea caught on. The earliest Valentine’s note to be sent goes back to the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt when Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote to his wife from captivity in 1415. His poem refers to her as ‘my very gentle Valentine’. Tragically, he never saw her again.

William Shakespeare and John Donne both cemented Saint Valentine’s reputation as the patron of romantic love. But it was the Victorians who really turbo-charged the tradition – they went into romantic overdrive with ever more elaborate Valentine’s cards and greetings. 

These could be shop bought, commissioned or best of all, home-made and were commonly decorated with love birds, hearts and Cupid – pretty much the Valentine’s Day that we know today.

Writing Challenge: I thought it would be fun to create a Valentine’s poem to an inanimate object that you love: a toy, a book, a favourite item of clothing. Include descriptions and imagery of what the item means for you, and perhaps the reaction it prompts for you – do you tremble whenever you go near? 

Is it the light and the life of every hour? The more exaggerated and over the top, the more entertaining it will be! We at the Time Tunnellers would love to see your work if you are willing to share it. Find us on social media @TimeTunnellers.